Ohio State Basketball: Will Buckeyes’ Offense Improve in 2014-15?

Only five programs in the history of college basketball have been to more Final Fours than Ohio State, so losing to Dayton in the round of 64 was simply not supposed to happen (even if that Dayton team did make an impressive March Madness run).

The Buckeyes’ middling offense was to blame for both the postseason loss and the rather mediocre regular season in Columbus. It ranked 128th in Ken Pomeroy’s pace-adjusted offensive efficiency ratings, 208th in points per game, 227th in assists per game and 138th in field-goal percentage.

Not a single player on the roster shot even 36 percent from behind the three-point line, and the team finished with a 32.4 percent mark from downtown overall. Ohio State also only shot 68.9 percent from the free-throw stripe, so it couldn’t even take advantage of its easy opportunities.

Thad Matta discussed some of his offensive frustrations after a particularly difficult loss to Penn State during the regular season, via Bob Baptist of The Columbus Dispatch:

Converting free throws in a timely fashion, when we need them. Being where we need to be, on the same page, offensively. Spacing. Timing up the cuts with when the pass is supposed to be delivered. Penetrating at the angle we want to penetrate as opposed to 4 feet the other way. Screening the top foot (of the defender) as opposed to the bottom foot. … I could go on forever.

Considering the Buckeyes finished third in Pomeroy’s defensive rankings, the offensive…